Managerial Succession in Complex Organizations

Abstract

Gouldner's study of managerial succession in a gypsum plant is compared with the author's study of succession in a large automobile plant. The comparison delineates the organizational pressures in the two social systems that led the first manager to adopt "punishment-centered" bureaucratic measures and the second to adopt "representative" measures. The action of the first resulted in increased tension and organizational dissatisfaction. The actions of the second manager had precisely the opposite effects. The comparison, in general, confirms Gouldner's hypothesis as to the effects of alternative bureaucratic patterns.